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Friday, December 31, 2010

Wow, it’s been a long time since I posted. I didn’t start out intending to take a break for Christmas, but it just sort of happened that way. I’ve been enjoying some time off from work and spending time with my hubby and our family.

I hope you all enjoyed a very blessed Christmas. We certainly did.

Today, I wanted to do a top ten post. I got the idea from Kelly Marie who got the idea from someone else. Go to her blog to check out her amazing projects from 2010.

Before I share some of my favorite projects of 2010, I want to ask you to come by on Monday 3 January, as I get to be part of something new, fun and exciting! I think a lot of you will enjoy it too, so please stop back by and check it out.

So here we go….Here are some of my favorite projects from 2010 (in no particular order):

(sorry I cannot find the link to this card… grr, I know I posted it. When I find the link, I’ll update the blog)

I hope you enjoy the look back. Let me know if you do something similar. I’d love to come and check back your trip down memory lane!

So what are your plans for New Year’s Eve? Any resolutions? For us, we’re staying in and will likely watch movies or 24 Season 8. I’m making us fun appetizers. As far as resolutions are concerned, I’m focusing on my relationship with Christ, being more diligent in bible study, scripture memorization and praying for others. Carlin and I are going to do a study on 1 John together.

And, of course, I’m vowing to lose weight. I actually started in 2010. I’ve lost some weight and am committed to continuing its progress. Carlin got me Zumba for the Wii, so that is convenient.

I wish for you all a very safe New Year’s eve, and I look forward to blogging with you in 2011.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

I hope you’ve enjoyed your weekend! Can you believe how close Christmas is???!! Wow, does time fly, or what!

Have you checked out the challenge being done by Lawn Fawn? You have a chance to have your creation included in the upcoming catalog and in the Lawn Fawn Booth at CHA. Is that just the coolest???!! The winner will have their card seen by people all over the world. I just think that this is one of the greatest challenges, so run, don't walk and submit!! You have until the 17th, so get creating!!

I have a project to share with you today, but before I do, I wanted to make you aware that Laurel who won the blog candy I gave away recently is doing a give away. Since she already owns the stamps that I had in the blog candy, she wanted to pay it forward. Be sure to go to her blog for details on the giveaway. She’s got multiple ways for chances to win. Just a reminder, the stamps being given away are Winter Bunny

And Hats Off to You

So, there’s still a chance at winning these uber fun stamps! Good luck in the giveaway!

For my post today, I’m sharing a bag that I made using a few different Lawn Fawn stamps. As you know, one of my favorite things about Lawn Fawn Stamps is how well they coordinate together.

I used Judy’s Blooms, Sophie’s Sentiments, and Fly Free to make this bag. I made it awhile ago (for a pub call that wasn’t accepted). Someday, I will use it to package a gift to a dear friend :)

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Thank you all for the sweet birthday wishes. I’ve had a really great day. It did start off with an early morning meeting but continued to improve steadily from there.

I know you are all interested in who won the blog candy, so here’s the scoop… Between November 28 and December 8 at 8:00pm, I had 190 posts (thank you for those SO SO MUCH). I put the numbers into random number generator who churned out the following:

I went and counted out from the first post to find the 33rd post, and identified our winner. And the winner is Laurel who said…

Laurel said... now these are just FABULOUS. Absolutely FABULOUS!!! I love these and have saved a picture of your cards to use as inspiration! LOVE LOVE LOVE these

I’d like to thank Laurel for her kind words. She’s such a sweetie. She’s got a fun blog that you should really check out. I have to say that through Twitter I’ve been getting to know Laurel more and thoroughly enjoying it. Congrats Laurel, please email me your address, and I’ll get your loot mailed out to you!

Thanks again for playing along! I appreciate you all stopping by and leaving comments.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Well, today is your last day to sign up for a chance at the blog candy I’m giving away. See my post here for the goodies up for grabs! You have until 8:00 pm EST today (Wednesday December 8th). Today is my birthday, and I wanted to do this give away as a gift to one of you who comments. This is a birthday present I’m giving to myself.

I’d also like to share some photos of some of the gift bags and tags I’ve made recently. These didn’t take all that long because I used patterned paper (and was able to use a lot of scraps). It was so nice because I was able to do it while Carlin and I watched tv.

First up, gift bags… These are just some that I made, and I love having a coordinating tag to go along with the bag. Makes me happy to have matching things…

Next up tags…

I seriously don’t know if I have enough gifts for all of these.

Here are some closer up shots…

I hope you liked the glimpses of how some of our gifts will be packaged. I’ve so enjoyed making these guys.

As always, thanks for stopping by. I cannot wait to pick and announce the winner.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

I hope you’re having a great week. I don’t know about you, but this time of year just flies by for me. I love Christmas. I wish it didn’t come and go so quickly.

Today, I’m sharing a card that I made a week or so ago for a co-worker who was celebrating his 50th birthday.

I think it's a common theme for us girls, the struggle to create cards for men. I love ribbons, bows, gems, cutesy, and none of those things are real manly. So I always think cards for men need to be simpler. This is where I landed for the above card. My co-worker seemed to like it and really appreciated that it was handmade.

Now, for some of you who've had questions last week, I've not forgotten you! Tonight I will tackle my favorite.....

Coloring: I enjoy, no, I LOVE, coloring with Copic markers. I'm still learning and have a long way to go in developing the skill. But I'm enjoying the process SO much. The markers are an investment. I was fortunate to start my collection off because I had gotten a gift card. There are several blog with good tips, such as Debbie Olsen (she's a legend, seriously), Marianne Walker, and Nichol Magouirk did a great post on some of her favorite Copic colors.

For coloring on darker colors, colored pencils are grand! I also enjoy opaque markers when coloring on craft or darker colored cardstock. But truly my fall back are my Copics. They are so fun to blend and shade. I feel like I'm a kid again coloring :)

Anyway, I hope this was somewhat useful. I know I punted to some other blogs for info, but those have been great resources. And those ladies truly have much more experience than I do.

Remember, I do have the blog candy up for grabs.... You have until 8:00 p.m. EST on December 8th to comment on blog posts between November 28 and December 8. I will randomly select a winner and announce who that is on the 9th. Good luck!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Happy Monday! I hope you had a fabulous weekend. Our weekend was wonderful. We got our first snow of the season which did prevent us from attending a dear friend’s birthday party.

I’m officially in Christmas mode. I started to wrap gifts, nearly finished Christmas cards (Just need to complete interior, sign and mail), and made some gift bags with coordinating tags. I’ll take some photos of them and share with you later.

Today, I’m finally going to show you the blog candy I’m giving away. To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on my blog between November 28 and December 8. You can comment on one post or all of them, so if you comment on all of them, your chances increase.

Want to see what is in the blog candy package?? Take a look:

There’s some magazines (CARDS, Simply Stamping, and CardMaker), rub-ons, chip board, spary mist, stamps (by Denami and Unity), and other alterables. Oh, and also, included in this giveaway but not pictured are:

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Today, I get to show you the last of the upcoming Lawn Fawn releases. This set is called “Hello Friend.” it’s a set that is full of “friendly” sentiments that I am sure you will find many MANY uses for.

Here’s what I came up with for my sample:

I just love this sentiment and thought that it would be so perfect to send to some of my friends who are far off. I’m very blessed to have friends all over the world, and this sentiment is just perfect for them. And it pairs SO nicely with the Studio Calico Documentary line, don’t you think?? I also broke out the Tim Holtz Sizzix die that I just adore. There’s lots of distressing with Ranger inks on this card too. I really enjoy that effect, I think it softens the lines and just adds some “patina” to cards.

Remember, I’m doing a big giveaway to a random commenter between Sunday November 28 and December 8. I’ll start showing you some sneak peeks at what’s up for grabs on Thursday.

Thank you all for your sweet comments and well wishes on the Paper Crafts publication. I am quite excited as I’m a newbie to this magazine. I’ve not been submitting as much recently due to LIFE. I hope to be able to do more of that in upcoming publication calls. I’ve said it before, if you are interested in being published, go for it. Just be persistent. I submitted to Paper Crafts for a year before they picked up something of mine, so keep at it. Having said all this, do not let it become an obsession or stressor, or worse yet, cause you to become discouraged about your creations. It’s easy to slip into all of those, believe me, I speak from experience.

About Me

I am a sinner saved by grace. The Lord blesses me daily in so many ways. I am married to a wonderful man, Carlin, and we have several furry four-legged kids that we adore. I love papercrafting, and meeting fellow papercrafters. Please drop me a line!